Today (Nov. 21) at 1 p.m., state housing and community development undersecretary Tina Brooks will speak about a recent housing market study of Cape Cod and the Islands. The session will be held in First District Court House off Route 6A in Barnstable Village.

10 percent off – maybe 15?

County Administrator Mark Zielinski has asked department heads to prepare what might be called “worst-case” and “worster-case” budget scenarios for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

With revenues continuing to crater, administrators are looking at cutting either 10 percent or 15 percent from their budget proposals.

At this week’s Assembly of Delegates meeting, George Bryant of Provincetown spoke again of how the county could raise its profile if people saw on their tax bills exactly what they’re paying toward the county assessment, and for what services.

That prompted county commissioner Bill Doherty to do some quick math and create this formula: “50,000 people give about $400,000, so that’s about $20 a head.”

The majority of the $26 million county budget is funded by the deeds excise tax.

Tradition ending at county farm

It made sense for Barnstable County Sheriff Lauchlan Crocker to establish the county farm during the Depression, but now one of his successors says it makes sense for him to pull out his officers and inmates to make ends meet.

Jim Cummings announced this week that he’ll suspend the inmate work program at the county farm on Route 6A in Cummaquid at year’s end. Provisions have been made for seasonal shoppers to buy trees and plants through December as usual.

The “ongoing fiscal crisis,” Cummings wrote to the county commissioners, “leaves me no choice.” He noted that his operating budget is down $3.4 million from last year’s.

When the county’s jail and house of correction were a short distance down the Old King’s Highway, inmate programs at the farm made sense. The fields provided food for the prisoners, along with opportunities for exercise.

Now the county correctional facility sits on the Massachusetts Military Reservation in Bourne, and Cummings says he must assign four officers to accompany the four or so inmates who travel to Barnstable to work the farm.

The sheriff made his plight clear this summer, prompting the county to issue a request for proposals to lease portions of the 80-acre property. Specifications are available from Barnstable County Purchasing Department, Superior Court House, P.O. Box 427, Barnstable MA 02630. They’re due by 4 p.m. on Dec. 22.

“I hope to remain involved with the group looking at future uses for the farm and should an opportunity arise that benefits the community, the Commissioners and this Office, I would be more than happy to return,” Cummings wrote.

Just be patient

While Cape Cod Commission Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki was in the trenches this week advocating no further delays in approval for the revised Regional Policy Plan, one of his predecessors was enjoying a more rarified atmosphere.

Armando Carbonell, now chairman of the planning and urban form department of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy in Cambridge, co-hosted a New England Smart Growth Leadership Forum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Nov. 20.

Former Gov. Mike Dukakis was scheduled to speak on “New England’s Transportation Future: A Vision for Progress.” Dukakis has been mentioned as a long-shot possibility for transportation secretary or a post at Amtrak in the Obama administration.

Where’s the board of commissioners?

In Chatham this week. The county’s executive board held its meeting at town hall there, including an update on the county dredge. Dredging is always a hot topic in watery Chatham.